In the past, an apparatus capturing an image of the surface of a semiconductor wafer for inspection has been proposed (see Patent Citation 1). This inspection apparatus is structured by a stage carrying a semiconductor wafer faced by a carriage housing a line sensor and a light source (LED) (optical block). Further, it is designed so that, in the process of the carriage moving in a predetermined direction above the semiconductor carried on the stage, the line sensor scans the surface of the semiconductor wafer to capture an image. According to such an inspection apparatus, the captured image obtained based on the image signal from the line sensor scanning the surface of the semiconductor wafer can be used to visually inspect the surface of the semiconductor wafer. Further, by processing the captured image, it is also possible to analyze damage, defects, etc.
Patent Citation 1: Japanese Patent Publication (A) No. 2007-147441